Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Missouri bill would let family advocates participate in 96‑hour mental‑health holds
Loading...
Summary
Rep. Burns told the Committee on Legislative Review that House Bill 25 16 would require facilities not to bar qualified family advocates from participating when a patient is held for up to 96 hours; she challenged a fiscal note estimating roughly $5 million and 35 FTEs and said the role would end at discharge.
Representative Emma Burns told the Committee on Legislative Review that House Bill 25 16 would give families a qualified advocate role when a person is brought to a mental‑health facility for a 96‑hour hold. "The whole goal is to allow a qualified family advocate to be able to participate," she said, explaining advocates would help with medication questions, context about what led to the hold and the discharge plan.
Burns described the problem she said the bill addresses: families often shoulder care responsibilities, cannot afford probate attorneys to pursue guardianship and find guardianship processes may be moot if facilities discharge the patient before a hearing. "A lot of these people have a history with police. They have a history with the mental‑health facility, and they know who the family is," Burns said.
The bill would prohibit mental‑health facilities from implementing a blanket policy that bars family participation by citing HIPAA, Burns said. She said federal law allows a patient to have an advocate in these circumstances and that facilities sometimes cite HIPAA incorrectly to refuse family input.
When a committee member flagged the fiscal note at roughly $5,000,000 and 35 FTEs, Burns called that estimate "completely outrageous" and said she would work to reconcile the cost estimate; she said she expects no cost from allowing a family member into clinical conversations. A committee member asked whether the bill assumes detention equals incapacity; Burns said detention typically follows a determination that someone is a danger to themselves or others and that physicians should retain discretion to exclude a family member who is an agitator.
Another member sought confirmation that the advocate role would end when a patient is released; Burns said it would. The committee asked for input to make the proposal workable for families.
The chair called for proponents, opponents and information witnesses; none appeared. The committee concluded the hearing on House Bill 25 16 without a vote.
The bill now moves to committee deliberation and any fiscal or drafting changes Burns mentioned; the committee did not take final action on HB 25 16 during this meeting.